Military: Pakistan Test-Launches Homegrown Cruise Missile

This handout image released on February 2, 2015 by Pakistan's Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) office shows a Pakistani nuclear-capable Ra'ad cruise missile after being launched from a jet fighter during a test firing at an undisclosed location in Pakistan. Pakistan on February 2 test-fired a cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, just over a week after its arch-rival India reached a new civilian nuclear accord with the United States. AFP PHOTO / INTER SERVICES PUBLIC RELATIONS -----EDITORS NOTE---- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / INTER SERVICES PUBLIC RELATIONS" ---- NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS---------- / AFP / ISPR / HO

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan conducted a successful flight test Tuesday of a locally developed cruise missile named "Ra'ad" with a range of 350 kilometers (around 218 miles), the military said.

"The state of the art Ra'ad ALCM (air-launched cruise missile) is equipped with highly advanced guidance and navigation system that ensures engagement of targets with pin point accuracy," the military said in a statement.

Tuesday's test is the latest in a series carried out by Pakistan and its arch-rival India since both demonstrated nuclear weapons capability in 1998.

Relations between Pakistan and India — which have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 — have always been fraught, but soured further last August amid a rise in clashes along their borders and a row over a Pakistani diplomat meeting Kashmiri separatists.

Pakistan test-fired a ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead on Dec. 15 last year.

Last week, India's Foreign Minister held talks with her Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz in Islamabad on the sidelines of a regional summit on Afghanistan, where they jointly announced they would resume high-level peace talks.